The Shinigami Seals
by JohnHinde
Summary: An attack on Soul Society has the Shinigami panicked. Leaving many Captains heavily wounded the perpetrator disappears. Fearing the worst, a new war after the Kūgo Ginjō incident, the Soul Society asks Urahara who in turn 'asks' Ichigo to investigate. Pairings IsseiXHarem IchigoXHarem.
1. Chapter 1: Party Crasher

**Author's Note:**

**Well this is one of the stories I had crashing around in my head. I wrote a few chapters so I'll release them more regularly at first. Something I have noticed is that I do tend to make my first chapters a little shorter. They give it just enough of an entrance to get the reader interested and the characters to where they need to be. That said I seem to be falling into a habit of using the Senkaimon to send them places. That said it is also the easiest and most reliable method of doing so. It can be used on multiple characters at once. It is hard to write something that they would believably all be in a new world and not be more focused on getting back than going through the story. About this story. It will be a multi harem story. Issei having a harem and Ichigo having a small four person harem. I could have extended it but writing large harems gets to be hard and implausible after a time. Ichigo's is set. No changes or altering to be done. Issei's is half-way set. I know four for sure but I'm not sure if I'll add one or two more or not. In an unrelated note I'm writing this while sick. Not fun.**

**IMPORTANT!- I am currently looking for a beta to help me proof my stories. I would like the beta to have a knowledge on many anime (including but not limited to harems)****so I can use him/her for this story and other stories that may crop up in the mean time. I need all the help I can get keeping these guys acting believable and in character. I would also need help with some grammar as looking back some of my latest chapters have been slipping. I could also help with more believable female reactions to things as I really suck at understanding women(as does every man I've ever met).****I do not have a set schedule as to writing so any potential betas should be aware of that. That said I will give credit to the beta for any ideas that he/she gives and also give them credit in each chapter they help proof. Please PM me if you are interested.**

**Now: I own nothing other than original ideas.**

Rukia _Kuchiki was having a nice afternoon. Her brother, Byakuya, had asked her if she would like to attend a small gathering of the Nobility. It was the first time that the elder Kuchiki had invited his little sister. _

_Rukia had spent the entire day getting ready. Her brother had stressed the importance of this first introduction to the Nobility outside their own family in which till now Rukia had limited her contact to Yoruichi and her younger sister. The Nobility__were the ones in charge of Central 46. The Judiciary and Legislative branches of the Soul Society. They made the laws and passed down judgment on those that broke them._

_The only Shinigami allowed to contact the Central 46 were members of the Nobility and the Captain Commander. Not even Captains other than those with Noble blood could meet with them. That was why the Nobility possessed such sway over events in the Soul Society._

_Dances and parties were regularly held to keep the Nobility entertained. Until recently Soul Society had been in a rut. These parties were the only means of high class entertainment. The R&D department of the Twelfth Division were still working on a way to have electronics from the human world work in an area rich with Spiritual Energy and wouldn't be crushed by an upset Captain's Spiritual Pressure if they lost a match of Mortal Kombat._

_The parties__also served the purpose of having high ranking individuals such as Captains come to them to ask them to push for or against a law. It was a well-received practice. Today the Kuchiki House was holding the party._

_It was the first one since Ichigo had invaded the Soul Society to save her. The__time between__had instead been used to rebuild the buildings destroyed on a weekly basis by those that held grudges against Soul Society or Kenpachi suddenly deciding to attack half the Captains on a whim, re-form Central 46, and help Ichigo regain his Shinigami powers._

_With all the Nobility being caught up in electing new members to the Central 46 and repairing the damage caused to their buildings they had just gotten everything in order. Byakuya had explained that it was about time that Rukia be introduced to the Nobility since she was part of a major house and had risen to the rank of Lieutenant. _

_"__You look lovely Rukia," Byakuya complimented his sister as he walked into her room._

_"__Thanks," Rukia said slightly embarrassed. She wasn't used to such praise from her brother. She had chosen a sleek gown for the occasion. It hugged her thin frame a bit too much for her taste but she thought it looked nice. Sode no Shirayuki had approved of the frosty blue coloring. Something about it bringing out her violet eyes._

_"__Now remember," Byakuya said taking his little sister's arm as he began to escort her to the hall that would house the dance and supper. "Be respectful but at the same time remember you are the member of the Kuchiki House. You deserve respect paid onto you as well. If someone is being particularly insolent like your friend Ichigo, you may want to use your sharp tongue to put them in their place, not your fists.__"_

_"__Right," Rukia said nodding to herself. She had been going over what her brother had said over and over again in her mind before he even appeared at her door to escort her to the hall._

_"__But most important," Byakuya intoned. His voice was serious and left no room for argument. "Have fun. This is a party. Relax. Enjoy yourself. Find a few of your friends and be with them. Just because you are a member of the Kuchiki house doesn't mean that you have to force yourself to be with people you don't know. When I first started attending these things I actually sat in a corner reading a book."_

_"__Really?" Rukia questioned. It wasn't that she had trouble imagining her brother preferring a book over socializing it was more that she had trouble seeing him do something that could embarrass the family as being seen as antisocial. _

_"__Yeah," Byakuya confirmed a small rare smile on his lips. "My father had wanted me to socialize with the other Nobles at the time. However I found it so tedious that I was bored instantly. They only enjoyed talking about things that they themselves believed were__ideal for a Noble. Horse riding, buying small businesses in Soul Society, which family was the weakest and how to take advantage of that weakness. It annoyed me to no end. They had tried to include me but I shared none of the same interests they did, so I usually ended up sitting at a table reading. _

_"__Over time though I got to know several Captains that came and became friends with them. After a while those that I had once found tedious stopped coming to the dances altogether as myself and my fellow Captains became more prevalent. Eventually I had stopped bringing books and was instead enjoying myself with my fellow Captains."_

_Rukia mulled over her brother's words. It seemed like him in retrospect. He hadn't always been like he was now. At one time he had been about as disruptive as Ichigo was. That was what had drawn her sister to him. At least that's what she thought._

_She was brought back to reality as the pair stopped in front of a pair of large oaken doors. A pair of armed Lieutenants stood outside._

_"__Hey Rangiku, Renji," Rukia said smiling at the pair. "How are you two?"_

_"__Halt and state your purpose," Renji said seriously. His red hair was held back in the usual manner giving him a spiky look. The tattoos on his face made him stand out even more._

_"__Oh be quiet Renji," Rangiku said smiling wide. Her bosom seemed to stick out much too far for Rukia's comfort. Her strawberry blond hair cascaded down her back. "He's just giving you a hard time."_

_"__Yeah," Renji said dropping his serious act. A smile replaced it. "It's good to see you Rukia. I haven't seen you in a while. Rangiku and I will be in once everybody arrives. We'll alleviate your boredom when we get inside."_

_"__Just don't start the sake without me." Rangiku said grinning widely and giving a little wink._

_"__Let's go Rukia," Byakuya said pulling at her arm. "Everyone will be waiting for us inside."_

_Rukia nodded and followed her brother through the large double doors. A huge pearly stair case lead to a huge hall. Tables lined the walls. Lights shone brightly above. Soft classical music was being played by a band in a corner of the hall. Men and women in bright white scurried about as they put the finishing touches on the hall. The men and women that worked in the House were seperated into to sections. The first would enjoy the first half of the party while the second half worked. About half way through they would switch. It helped make the first arrivals of importance feel like the party was alive right from the start._

_"__Announcing the arrival of hosts Lady Rukia and Lord Byakuya Kuchiki." A man in white said to their right._

_"__Are they going to do that for everyone?" Rukia asked as Byakuya lead her down the stairs. Many of the men and women clapped. Rukia recognized a handful of them and nodded respectfully to them._

_"__Of course," Byakuya said as they reached the bottom. "They do it so that those in the room will know when a new member arrives and also who has arrived. If you feel hungry be sure to wave down any in white. They will be more than happy to bring you a small snack. If you want to begin the main course sit at a table and wave one down. They'll bring you your food as soon as they can."_

_"__You really have this well planned." Rukia said releasing her brother's arm._

_"__Of course," Byakuya said smiling at her. "I have been doing this for quite some time. Now this being your first time if you have any questions feel free to come and find me. I'll be happy to answer your questions."_

_"__Thanks," Rukia said smiling._

_"__Oh and word to the warning," Byakuya said as he started to walk away. "If you decide to drink don't try and keep up with Rangiku. Also drink sparingly. You don't want to be drunk half way through then puke on some poor man that asks you to dance."_

_"__Dance," Rukia said nervously. She hadn't even thought about someone asking her to dance. "You never said anything about dancing."_

_"__Since this is your first time here feel free to refuse," Byakuya said simply. "For that matter if you never decide to dance that is fine too. Just refuse politely. Say you are overwhelmed or that you aren't feeling well. That should be enough to get most people to back off."_

_"__Thanks," Rukia said thankfully as she felt an invisible weight lift from her shoulders._

_"__Now I have business to attend to," Byakuya said as he left. "Relax. The guests should be arriving soon."_

_/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_

_It had been going so nicely. One by one the Nobles and Captains had been shown inside. Rukia had gone over to where her own Captain was and struck up a conversation with him. Several hours passed as Rukia switched between groups of people that began to fill the hall. Every Captain and Lieutenant had come. The only ones missing were Kenpachi, his Lieutenant, Yachiru, Yoruichi as her clan's head, and the Captain Commander. _

_She had been having quite a nice time. Her friends swirled around her. Never acting to polite but never quite as familiar as they normally were either. It was weird for Rukia and she wasn't sure how she had felt about that._

_About half way into the dance a name was called out that made her pause. In fact it made everyone pause. It wasn't because it was a well-known name, in fact Rukia had never heard it before. What caught her attention was the frank rudeness of the name._

_"__Announcing the arrival of Lord Seymour Tush," The greeter announced. The hall had frozen in silence. The greeter had flushed a deep crimson as he realized what he had said. Several in the group sported sweat drops or had face palmed. The majority looked furious however. Deep shades of scarlet and maroon filled the hall. Rukia herself was one of the latter._

_Standing next to the greeter, looking completely oblivious to the killing intent many in the room were leveling at him, stood a pale looking boy. No more than ten. His hair was an extremely light shade of blond. His clothing was a pure white disheveled suit. He stood stooped over like it hurt to be on his feet. His appearance looked sickly and weak. A diadem sat atop his head catching the light from above and reflected it. A bow was strapped to his back._

_"__What is the meaning of this?" Byakuya asked stepping forward. "I do not believe I sent you an invitation. Renji and Rangiku were supposed to keep people like you out."_

_"__Oh were those their names?" The boy asked tilting his head to the side in thought. "They were remarkably weak. I thought that the Nobility of Soul Society could afford better protection than them."_

_"__Who are you?" Byakuya asked his voice dangerously thin._

_"__I am known by many names." The child said smiling thinly. Rukia suddenly became aware of a weakness slowly growing in her gut. She wanted to vomit. Her brow sweated profusely. Her legs felt like they were going to buckle any moment. "Conqueror, Victor, but right now I'm Pestilence. It's a pleasure to meet you. Too bad our meeting won't last long."_

_Rukia looked around her. The only ones still standing were the Captains and the Lieutenants, but even they looked weakened. The rest of the Nobles and workers were lying in heaps on the ground. Her eyes searched and finally found who she had been looking for._

_"__Captain Ukitake," Rukia tried to shout but it came out more as a groan. She fell to her knees along with several Captains and Lieutenants. Her Captain lay writhing on the ground. Obvious pain wracked through his body._

_"__Oh don't worry about him," Pestilence said a soft smile on his face. "Even now the diseases are slowly making their way through your blood stream."_

_"__Which diseases?" Captain Unohana asked. She out of all of them appeared to be doing the best but even she was slowly weakening. She was the last Captain standing. The rest were struggling to stay on their knees. Rukia was fighting to maintain consciousness as she fell on her side. She was the last of the Lieutenants awake._

_"__Why, all of them," Pestilence answered smiling. "Cancer, AIDS, Heart Disease, the flu, the common cold, ebola, and so many others. They are continuing to grow in intensity too. Within five minutes you'll be dead if I keep this up. Unfortunately I was told that I can't. I need to turn into Conqueror now. See you all again soon."_

_A bright glow seemed to emanate from the child. Rukia couldn't help herself from averting her eyes from the source. When the light faded__Rukia looked back. Standing in the same place was the same kid, yet it wasn't. Instead of looking sickly, this version while still obviously him was vastly different. The previous version had looked unassuming. A child that had rolled out of a death__bed. _

_This version demanded obedience. Demanded that you either bow to him or get crushed under foot. His Spiritual Pressure suddenly filled the room flattening the remaining Captains to the ground. Rukia could only compare it to two people. The Captain Commander and Ichigo Kurosaki.__His back was straight and his pale eyes cold. His suit which before had been disheveled now looked on the brink of ripping under the strain to contain him. Despite his appearance Rukia knew that she wasn't looking into the eyes of a child._

_"__Why are you here?" Byakuya wheezed out. Rukia's heart cried out for her brother and those around her that had collapsed. _

_"__I suppose I could tell you that much," Pestil-Conqueror said his voice much more mature and stronger than that of his other self, Pestilence. "I'm here to collect another Seal. Only a few of us are out, but we all need to be out for it to work."_

_Rukia began to feel a rumbling underneath her body. Rukia could only watch as the room began to shake violently. The walls crumbled around them. Destruction rained down on them from all sides. Bits of the roof collapsed. Rukia could only bark a sharp exclamation of pain as a section of roof fell pinning her leg to the ground, crushing it._

_"__I suppose that is enough for now," Conqueror said his tone disappointed. "I doubt that we will meet again."_

_A circle filled with strange ruins Rukia had never before seen suddenly appeared above the man child. A pure almost blinding white it slowly descended. As it passed over him Conqueror disappeared leaving behind a hall full of the sick and injured._

_Rukia coughed up a mouth full of blood and debris. _

_"__Damn it," Rukia cursed as she tried to move._

_"__Don't move," Unohana said loudly. "We are all very sick and some of us are heavily injured. We can't afford to take risks. I've got just enough energy for this."_

_Unohana pointed at the sky. A look of concentration on her face. _

_"__Hadō #4. Byakurai." A stream of blue lightning shot from her fingertips._

_Rukia's vision faded to black at the same time the after image of the lightning faded._

_/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_

_"__That's why you are here, Ichigo," Urahara said seriously. When Ichigo had been asked/kidnapped by Urahara he hadn't been expecting him to be so serious. It had been just a normal day after school. He had been walking home with his friends when suddenly Urahara had appeared in front of the group._

_Before Ichigo even had a chance to reach for his badge he had been knocked out._

_He had woken up in the basement of Urahara's shop. A suitcase packed in front of him. Urahara had been doing something on a computer. A stone Senkaimon stood nearby. A swirling vortex of black and white composed the middle._

_Before Ichigo could attack the shop keeper from hell for kidnapping him, again, Urahara had jumped into what had happened in Soul Society and Rukia._

_"__YOU CAN'T JUST SAY EVERYONE COLLAPSED AND NOT TELL ME IF THEY ARE ALL RIGHT!" Ichigo shouted at the man in the green and white bucket hat._

_"__Time is of the essence," Urahara said seriously. "Squad Four managed to get to those in the room in time to stabilize most of the Shinigami and Nobles. A few Nobles did die however and Captain Ukitake is not doing well I am told it is unlikely he will recover. I received word from Soul Society desperately asking me to do three things. First they wanted to prevent another attack like the previous one or at least have some more guards to help prevent it. So I asked Chad to go to Soul Society and help defend it should anyone attack again. The second was that they needed Orihime to help heal those that had collapsed. So I asked her to help them. Third and finally they asked if you would be willing to follow after him into a new world. We need eyes and ears to where he went and you are the only one that is left."_

_"__What about Uryū?" Ichigo asked. "Or Yoruichi?"_

_"__Uryū volunteered to look after Karakura Town while you are gone." Urahara supplied. "And Yoruichi will be joining you."_

"Hat'n Clogs you seem a bit stressed," Ichigo said a bit worried. Through the entire time Ichigo had known the shop keeper he could count on one hand the number of times he had seen him serious for more than five minutes.

"Sorry Ichigo," Urahara sighed out. "I can't quite bring myself to be my normal self today. A single being not only managed to invade Soul Society without any alarm being tripped, but managed to take out pretty much every Captain and Lieutenant there with so little trouble they may as well be children. So yes I am stressed. A single wrong movement could spell disaster. For that matter even if we only make correct moves we may still lose in the end."

Urahara shook his head as he visibly tried to throw himself out of the sour mood that had descended on the two.

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" Ichigo asked.

"Well as far as we are able to figure out," A voice started from behind Ichigo. Ichigo turned to see Yoruichi in her cat form. He was always thrown for a loop at her voice. The deep masculine tone contrasted violently with the woman inside the cat. "This Pestilence or Conqueror person has a severe case of multiple personality disorder. He mentioned a personality named Victory too. Thankfully Division Twelve's equipment was working and managed to get a trace on where he went after he left. It's a dimension with little to no Hollow traffic so the Soul Society stays out of it. Consequently we know absolutely nothing about it."

"Why don't more Hollows travel to it?" Ichigo asked curious.

"Let me rephrase." Yoruichi explained. "Thousands or even millions attempt the crossing each year. When they try to get back to our world those that did survive perish. It appears that a special key was needed in order to bypass an area similar to the Precipice World, but much more dangerous. Several Shinigami attempted to go into it several years ago, before your time, but as far as we can tell not one of them made it through."

"So why am I going?" Ichigo asked fighting a growing sense that he should make a break for it.

"Besides the fact I would chase you down and make your life a living hell?" Yoruichi asked a sudden sultry tone in her voice. "How about I point out that in order to catch you I would need to be in my Shinigami form and in case you forgot I don't come with clothes."

"I suppose that I don't have much of a choice." Ichigo said under his breath. "But what do you want me to do in this world?"

"Right now absolutely nothing," Urahara said simply. "I already personally tested the portal. It should bring you to a town of comparable size to Karakura Town. I already forged the necessary documents. I also built a house at the sight of the portal. We need you to establish something of a semi-permanent base there. Above all you need to stay under the radar. Eventually those in Soul Society will be sending a few Captains to help retaliate."

"Okay anything else I need to know?" Ichigo asked. He may as well go in forewarned.

"We will be keeping as low a profile as possible," Yoruichi explained. "Meaning as few powers as possible. If we get found out that will make it that much harder to continue. If we do get discovered we need to stay out of the entanglements of those we run into as much as possible. As well as keeping all information about Soul Society to ourselves. No need to go confusing people about the dead."

"Fine is there anything else I need to know?" Ichigo asked sighing.

"Yeah," Yoruichi said. "We are taking Kon along too."

"Why are we taking that perverted bastard along?" Ichigo demanded.

"Because we can't afford for you to leave your body unattended." Yoruichi explained.

"I'm not going to use him." Ichigo said adamantly. That plushy bastard had ruined his reputation several times over already when a Hollow had decided to run wild during class.

"Think of it like this," Yoruichi said slowly. "If you are attacked by Pestilence then he may very well infect your human body despite fighting you. Even if you win your body would still be infected and we would have to send for Orihime to fix both your Soul and your body. Unless you want to get into a body riddled with Cancer, AIDS, and God knows what else."

"Alright," Ichigo huffed angrily. "But I'm not responsible if that guy gets in trouble."

"Noted," Yoruichi said nodding. "Now let's go."

Ichigo nodded. As he went he grabbed his suitcase and walked toward the gate. He reached out a hand but hesitated before putting it in.

"Is there a time limit like going too Soul Society?" Ichigo asked over his shoulder.

"Not this time." Urahara responded. "You are passing through an area that doesn't go through the Dangai so you shouldn't have any reason at all to run into the Cleaner or have the door close before you get there."

"You sure there won't be a Cleaner?" Ichigo asked suspiciously. "It seems that every time you say those words the Cleaner some how manages to show up."

"There won't be a Cleaner." Urahara responded raising his right hand. "I swear I will let Yoruichi use me as a scratching post if there is a Cleaner."

"Alright," Ichigo said still trying to find the loophole Urahara undoubtedly left for himself.

Not finding one Ichigo took a deep breath and walked through the portal.

It was instantaneous. One moment he was standing in Urahara's training ground and the next he was standing in some weird black void. It surrounded him completely. The only exceptions came from directly in front of him and directly behind him. A pair of bright glowing rectangles floated in the air. Presumably the entrance and exit to the strange place.

"Ready Ichigo?" Yoruichi questioned as she stepped through the gate behind him.

"I suppose," Ichigo said shrugging.

A sudden flash of red caught his eye. Ichigo turned to his right to see what had made it. He felt the color drain from his face as the red beast that faced the pair.

"I'm going to murder Urahara." Ichigo said softly as a torrent of flame suddenly rushed toward the pair from the beast's mouth. Ichigo didn't get a chance to speak again as he ran for his life.

**Author's Note:**

**John: Well end of chapter one. I hope you all enjoyed it. That said I really hadn't planned on putting out this story at all yet. I was actually going to wait till my other stories were done but I find myself needing a beta before I am willing to put out what little I have written in my other story. That said I hope to have the chapter for my other story out by the end of this month. Keep on reviewing and now a few words from our characters.**

**Ichigo: Where the hell am I?**

**John: Care to comment on what just happened?**

**Ichigo: The last thing I remember was running for my life from that damned thing and suddenly I find myself here. What gives?**

**John: I am writing a story and you are one of the main characters. I am pulling you out so you can interact with the audience a little.**

**Ichigo: Why would you do that?**

**John: ...Why not? Besides it gives you a chance to say how you feel the story is going.**

**Ichigo: But won't I just remember all this is a story when I assume I go back?**

**John: Using my mystic powers as an author I can assure you that you won't remember anything that happens here until you come back. Now anyway what do you think about this chapter?**

**Ichigo: Why did you kill all those people in Soul Society you bastard?**

**John: Because for now they aren't going to be joining you. Besides all I did was kill off a few nameless characters and put the major ones into the hospital. It's not anything you haven't done before.**

**Ichigo: …**

**John: Anyway please review. See you here or in a different story some time. John Hinde signing off!**

**Ichigo: You're still a bastard.**

**John: I never said I wasn't.**


	2. Chapter 2: Strange School and Women

**Author's Note: Not much for a note this time since most of this was written at the same time as the first chapter. I did a little altering to it before hand. I would also like to announce I have found a beta for this story! I would like to thank him here for his contributions and I hope that with his help this will be an epic, believable, and interesting story. So let's give a big thanks to chaos083! ****He has convinced me to increase the size slightly for the harems so I will be adding a few more than four to each.**

**I will now answer a few questions/concerns that have already arisen:**

**senvisal: I did get the sense that Byakuya was a little out of character. I apologize for that. I tried to show him in a different light since he was interacting with Rukia who is a little sister to him. I'm not sure if it worked as well as I intended it to. As for the timeline in the DXD dimension I was planning on having it a day or two before Asia joins the Devils. I have seen plenty of start points for this particular crossover everything from years before DXD starts, to the beginning, to after Asia joins(chaos083), to the big meeting between the factions. I decided on this time because Ichigo is basically going in cold. He knows exactly nothing about anyone or thing there. I want him to see the shifting of the sand as it were. Knowing something is going on in the school but not sure what it is or what to make of it. Asia gives a great opportunity for that. As for Kuroka, Gabriel, and Ophis, I will say that ****I am looking at a few of them but haven't really decided on them all that much****. I'll discuss Ichigo's harem more in the next question. As for them in Issei's harem it could work. I'm not sure yet though. I'll give it some thought. Thanks for the review.**

**Tahaku: I knew this question would come up eventually. I just didn't think it would be this soon. ****The short answer is no. I am s****orry if this upsets you and I hope that you'll keep reading, but let me defend myself before I get killed by IchiHime fans. The long answer is that I chose not to pair them together because it gets to be dull and repetitive if I use the same template over and over again, and since I've used Rukia and Orihime in my Sekirei crossover and there are already hundreds if not thousands of stories on this website that have one, the other, or both, so I left them out this time. I have to mix people in the harem up from time to time. If I had it always as certain people will always be in his harem it bores the reader since it leads to repetitive scenes.  
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**To flighter86 and Mexican ninja1996: Thanks and I'll keep it up.**

**Grinja: I do have a few shenanigans planned for Ichigo. As for who is going to be in whose harem I will leave that to the story.**

**Now on to the story but first,**

**I own nothing other than original ideas.**

Ichigo was doubled over. He spat to get the bile out of his mouth.

"I'm going to murder that bastard." Ichigo cursed aloud. "What was that thing?"

"I believe they are called dragons," Yoruichi explained stretching her cat form.

"Damn it," Ichigo cursed again. "That was worse than the cleaner."

"You're over reacting." Yoruichi said. A yawn escaped her cat lips.

"At least the cleaner doesn't shoot huge balls of fire at you while it chases you." Ichigo shot back.

"Either way Ichigo I think it's time that you get to bed." Yoruichi supplied. "You have school in the morning."

Ichigo blinked as he took notice of his surroundings for the first time.

An oasis spread before the Substitute Shinigami. A small lake sat next to a dense forest. Yoruichi and Ichigo stood in the center of a small clearing. Deer idly grazed by the lake. A fish leaped out of the water to catch a passing fly. The clouds lazily moved over head as the sun set. It was so natural and peaceful. Ichigo could almost believe it was a natural setting save for one thing. A single cloud in the sky didn't seem to move. Oh it swirled and gave the appearance that it was moving but by paying attention Ichigo realized that the center of the cloud was never completely visible.

"Urahara has really gotten good at making these training rooms." Ichigo said still looking at the cloud.

"It's not a room." Yoruichi replied. "He was a little lazy and used a Kidō instead of having his machine dig out a training room."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked his eyes narrowing. He had been the butt of too many of Urahara's experiments to not be a little cautious.

"Don't worry Ichigo," Yoruichi said giving a slight yawn. "It is a very minor variation of a Senkaimon. The only real difference between it and the ones you are used to is that it is voice activated. Say 'Down' and the Senkaimon will open and drop a ladder down from the cloud. Grab it say 'Up' and the rope ladder will shoot up to a regular basement of the house Kisuke prepared. Once through the gate will close."

"Why did he have the Senkaimon bring us here instead of directly to the house?" Ichigo asked frowning.

"Well if someone finds the house it wouldn't take long to discover a secret basement the size of a stadium underneath it." Yoruichi replied deadpan. "This way the training area is a bit more isolated."

"But we can't really go all out here can we?" Ichigo asked looking around doubtfully at the peaceful landscape. "I mean someone will start asking questions if they see explosions or this place scarred by my attacks."

"The area is under a few sets of Bakudō Kidō to prevent several things." Yoruichi explained. "The first and most outer portion is a new Kidō Kisuke developed after studying Quincy powers for a while. It sucks a small amount of Spiritual Energy from the environment and uses it to continuously power the other Bakudō Kidō. It doesn't take anymore than necessary and isn't lethal. The second is a disguise Bakudō barrier. It makes an inflationary image of the forest and projects it to the outside. An out right barrier preventing people from getting in would take much more energy and would give off a lot more power. The third is a Spiritual Energy barrier that will prevent even your high powered Spiritual Energy from leaving. If you look closely you can see a little shimmer of light it gives off. That's why it isn't outside the disguise barrier. The fourth is a repair Bakudō Kidō. This one repairs the damage done to the environment slowly until no trace remains that it was damaged. For whatever reason it doesn't work on man made objects. Only on the environment. It for whatever reason also teleports animals outside the lethal affect of any of your abilities. Once again wild animals only. Domesticated animals won't be teleported so don't bring in any dogs."

"Why would I bring in a dog when I already have a cat to use for target practice?" Ichigo teased.

"Because you might actually be able to hit a dog instead of us cats." Yoruichi said smugly. "They are much slower than us."

"Please continue," Ichigo said as he released a sigh, realizing he lost.

"That's about it," Yoruichi said shrugging. "The last one is a simple reflection Bakudō. Be careful with this one. It will take any Kidō or any projectile based attack and reflect it like a bumper on a pool table. If you aren't careful you could end up hitting yourself."

"How does that last one work?" Ichigo questioned. "I mean how does it decide what is an attack and what is just an animal trying to leave?"

"The energy behind it." Yoruichi replied shrugging. "Even though it is based off the energy of the soul, Spiritual Energy and Spiritual Pressure are just forms of energy. One is potential energy energy to be used and one is used energy. To put it into more mundane human forms Potential Energy versus Kinetic Energy. The barrier is designed to counter Kinetic Energy over a certain point not Potential Energy. Meaning it doesn't matter if you shoot it with a gun or hit it with a Getsuga Tenshō the attack will be reflected. However tossing a rock gently or walking through it wouldn't cause it to activate."

"So just no running through it." Ichigo summed up.

"Or Flash Stepping." Yoruichi added. "That would have you shooting around like a pin ball."

"Anyway where did you say my room was?"

"Your room should be at the top of the ladder and down a hall way," Yoruichi supplied as she head toward the spot directly underneath the cloud. "Now I'm going to go take a cat nap. See you tomorrow after school."

"You haven't even said where I'm going to school," Ichigo said deadpan.

"It's a nice place." Yoruichi said sighing. "Kuoh Academy."

_/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_

"So this is the place," Ichigo said scowling. He had on the uniform the school had supplied. He left it unbuttoned revealing he white buttoned shirt that was supposed to be underneath. Ichigo had left that unbuttoned as well revealing a plain black t-shirt. He had wanted to have his dark red t-shirt but it wasn't in his suitcase. "Kuoh Academy."

He stood in front of the school. The artistic design the school sported made it look much less harsh than his school back in Karakura Town which was brutally simple.

_Suppose I should be getting to class._ Ichigo thought to himself as he walked to the door. Windows gleamed brightly in the sun.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" A voice called.

"IT WAS GLORIOUS!" Another voice yelled half hysterical.

"STOP THEM!" A different voice called.

It was more his natural instincts that caused his reaction than the voice. Ichigo stepped to one side and stuck out a foot. He watched as three pairs of legs tripped and crashed over his leg. Three male students collapsed on the ground in front of him.

"Thank you so much," A girl's voice said to his side. Ichigo turned to face it. He felt his jaw go slightly loose. For as long as he had been alive people had questioned his hair color. _It's natural damn it._ In front of him stood a woman with bright blue hair that nobody would believe it was her natural color.

"No problem," Ichigo shrugged struggling to maintain his scowl. "What did they do anyway?"

"They were peeping into the girl's locker room." The girl said matching Ichigo's scowl. The rest of the girls following descended on the group of guys and began to beat them. As they cried out for mercy.

_Damn it another three Kons._ Ichigo cursed internally. _Note to self, do NOT let them anywhere near each other._

"Well I was glad to help." Ichigo said shrugging again.

The woman got a strange look on her face.

"Who are you?" The woman asked frowning. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo introduced himself.

"Oh so you were who I was sent to meet." The girl said smiling. "I'm Tsubasa Yura, from the Student Council. I was sent to show you to your first class. The President was busy this morning and the Vice President is home sick so she asked me to show you to your first class. After that she will show you around campus."

"So what can you tell me about what happened there?" Ichigo asked indicating the pummeling the three men were receiving.

"Oh those are the Perverted Trio," Tsubasa said shrugging off the question. She started to lead Ichigo down a nearby hallway. "This is actually quite a normal occurrence. They usually peep into locker rooms around the school. When they get caught they are chased down and beaten."

"So what can you tell me about this school?" Ichigo asked looking around.

"Well there isn't much to tell." Tsubasa said simply as they passed lockers and doors throughout the hall. It really was a really clean and nice school. "The school is pretty nice as far as everything goes. Classes are a little more advanced than many in the country but the teachers do such a good job teaching that it isn't really a problem. The people in the school are fairly decent. There are a few nut jobs, but even they are pretty decent at their heart. There are various clubs you can join. I'm a member of the Student Council which is an elected position, but you could try for the kendo club, photography, swimming, start your own, or join one of the countless other clubs."

"So what does the Student Council do?" Ichigo asked. At Karakura Town the Student Council had been primarily made of popular kids. The Student Council hadn't done much there. They had organized school dances and stopped fights but that was about it.

"Well," Tsubasa said slowly like she had to think about it. "We normally listen to the students and if we hear complaints about a certain aspect of the school we try to find amicable solutions that benefit the student and the teachers. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Ichigo said frowning. "In the school I transferred from the Student Council didn't do much besides organize dances and stopping fights. I still say they should have done something about the food in the cafeteria. I swear it tasted like they had let someone without any skill at all cook it. I'm not sure if half of it was even edible."

_/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_

_Orihime sneezed softly as she continued to heal Rukia. The entire group of Shinigami were proving to be remarkably resistant to her healing techniques but it was working. Slower than it should have but it was working._

_"Are you alright Orihime?" Unohana asked from where she lay nearby. She was in the best condition out of all those that had been present at the attack. She had been slowly using Kidō on herself to get better so she could eventually help heal the others as well. In the meantime Orihime had been keeping everyone as stable as she could and improve when it was possible. In that time she had also taken to talking with the black haired Captain. "You aren't catching anything from us right?"_

_"It's fine," Orihime said smiling. "Remember they put a Kidō on me that filters the air and a fine stream of air prevents me from touching any of you directly. Anyway I was telling you about how I did some extra work in the kitchen at my school to earn some extra credit for my economics class."_

_/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_

"Well I can assure you that the food here is actually quite good." Tsubasa said giving a light hearted chuckle. She looked at him askance. "You don't smile very much do you?"

"No," Ichigo said simply. His scowl was still on his face from the moment he stepped onto the school grounds. "What you see is what you get."

"Just be careful," Tsubasa said giving him a lopsided smile. "A lot of girls in this school are attracted to the bad boys."

Ichigo chose to ignore that comment. Oh sure some may like 'bad boys' but he had plenty of those at his old school too. What the girls really wanted was a bad boy that would be good just for them. That's why most of them dated such assholes. After treating them indifferently for so long they eventually got the message. Ichigo wasn't looking to date.

That's to say he wasn't interested in women. He just wasn't looking to date. Before he got his powers it would have been just too troublesome to date. After he got his powers dating had taken an entirely new aspect. After rescuing Rukia in Soul Society he had women and even a few men approach him to try and get him to go out with them. It wasn't that they were interested in Ichigo. They were interested in what he did. Not who he was.

After the Winter War he had just wanted some time off. Time to relax. Enjoy a peaceful life for a while. A few women had approached him during that time but Ichigo turned them down because he wasn't ready to date after such a large event.

After he got his powers back, things got millions of times worse. Women and men from Soul Society began to sneak away from their duties and all but force themselves on Ichigo. Once again they wanted The Hero of Soul Society, The Ryoka, or The Substitute Shinigami. They did not care for Ichigo. Some of them didn't even know his name. They asked for him by title. Ichigo hated titles. They never gave a true indication of any sort of power. Renji and Rukia were far stronger now than they were several years ago. They would even be able to take on a few of the Captains from the past and even a few from the present, yet they were only Lieutenants.

Ichigo was still terrible at sensing Spiritual Energy. Hell he had to be right next to the damn person in order to feel anything and he was actively trying to sense it. Even then he could only get a general feel if the person wasn't suppressing it. The only times he could feel it otherwise was in the middle of a fight or if the Spiritual Energy was extremely vast.

It was no wonder he had almost been fooled several times into believing that an exchange student was a regular human instead of a Shinigami. It was only due to his friends warning him that he didn't fall for it.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ichigo said carefully as Tsubasa stopped in front of a classroom.

"This is your homeroom," Tsubasa said smiling. "Be sure to be kind to everyone."

Ichigo nodded as he knocked on the door. He stood waiting as Tsubasa left smiling.

A woman with black hair cut jagged at the shoulder opened the door. Dark brown eyes looked kindly at him. A brown suit covered her form. She smiled at Ichigo.

"Oh you must be the new student." She said. Ichigo lessened his scowl a few degrees. "I'm the home room teacher, Ms. Koumoto. I got word from your Uncle yesterday that you'd be transferring here. Why don't you come in and introduce yourself to the class?"

Ms. Koumoto walked into the classroom with Ichigo following her. It was a decent class Ichigo supposed. It wasn't terribly large but it wasn't overly small either. Only one seat stood empty. It was near the back by a window. Most of the class were women of varying looks, heights, and build. One stood out right away though.

Her hair a dark almost blood red color that cascaded down her back to her hips. She was a buxom figure. She had a calculating expression on her face that made Ichigo feel like he was being put under a microscope. Her blue eyes seemed to be trying their hardest to pierce into Ichigo. She was talking to another woman.

The other woman had her dark hair done up into a pony tail and reached down to her ankles. It was kept in place by a bright orange ribbon. She was buxom figure as well, just shy of the red head's size. Violet eyes looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. She had a soft smile on her face.

Now that he looked more carefully he saw another with the same weighing look in her eyes. A woman with oval glasses and violet eyes seemed to be weighing him in her mind like some clothes she couldn't decide if she wanted or not. Her dark hair was a short bob cut. She had a stiffness about her that reminded Ichigo of Byakuya.

"Class welcome this is our new student." Ms. Koumoto said loudly breaking everyone out of their individual conversations. "He will be joining us in class from now on. Please introduce yourself to everyone."

"Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo said simply. The class seemed to wait as if expecting more. Ichigo didn't indulge them.

"Well then Ichigo," Ms. Koumoto said simply. "Please take a seat. Souna Shitori will show you around school when class is over."

Ichigo slowly made his way to the only seat available in the class at the back of the room. He eased himself into the desk and leaned against the back wall. Ichigo barely bothered paying attention as the teacher began. It wasn't because he didn't care. It was because his teachers in Karakura Town had already covered the subject being taught. If they progressed at about the same rate Ichigo would say he had about a week before the lessons caught up to where Karakura was.

"**Ichigo,"** Zangetsu said speaking up suddenly. **"We should talk."**

Ichigo careful not to alert anyone slowly put his head down on his desk and closed his eyes in concentration.

When he opened them he found himself in his inner world. Ichigo stood sideways on a skyscraper as was normal in his world. A dark water covered the base of the towers going against Ichigo's sense of gravity in the world. Ichigo had his usual black Shinigami robes on. Zangetsu in his sword form was strapped to his back.

Zangetsu the person in his usual black cloak stood on a flag pole nearby. A goatee surrounded his mouth and thin strips made their way up along his jaw line to join his long shaggy dark brown hair. Lightly tinted sunglasses covered his eyes.

All this was normal. What wasn't normal was the appearance of Shiro, Ichigo's inner Hollow. A carbon copy of Ichigo, he was pure white, from his hair to the Shinigami robes he was dressed in. His eyes consisted of black pupils, golden irises, and black sclera. An inverse colored sword Zangetsu was strapped to his back. A cold smile was on his face.

"Hey yah King."Shiro said smiling wickedly.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo sighed.

"Just annoying gramps over here," Shiro said casually gesturing to Zangetsu. "Besides someone has to make sure you get some while we are here. I mean look at you. Surrounded by hot women and you have never gotten laid. What the fuck?"

Ichigo may have accepted his inner Hollow when he preformed the Final Getsuga Tenshō, but that still didn't stop him from being an ass.

"Ichigo," Zangetsu said breaking in before Ichigo could respond. "We didn't call you here just for him to annoy you. We have a problem."

"What is it?" Ichigo asked frowning.

"Well King," Shiro said casually. "Thing is that not everything is what it seems."

"Just say what you mean," Ichigo huffed.

"There are non-humans in this school." Zangetsu clarified. "You've already run into five of them."

Ichigo felt the hair on the back of his neck begin to rise.

"Why so many?" Ichigo pondered aloud.

"We don't know," Zangetsu said simply. "But what I do know is that if you've run into five of them so far and it isn't even midday yet there are likely to be many times more somewhere in the school."

"Can you tell me who they are?" Ichigo asked.

"We could but," Shiro cackled. "In order for us to do so you need to practice feeling out power. Until you get better we are only able to tell you a general number. Remember our powers are interlinked. The stronger you get, the stronger we get. The better you get at a skill the better we get at it."

"Can you at least tell me how many are in the room?" Ichigo asked.

"Three that we can tell," Zangetsu responded.

"Must be those three," Ichigo muttered remembering the faces of Bob-cut, Pony-tail, and Red-hair. "They all were looking at me strangely." A thought occurred to Ichigo. "Shit. Did they sense my Spiritual Energy?"

"Doubtful." Zangetsu responded. "We've both been suppressing it since you arrived in this world. To all outside forces you will appear to be a human. Maybe slightly above average but still human."

"Thanks Zangetsu." Ichigo paused then reluctantly added, "And you too Shiro."

"You're welcome, Ichigo." Zangetsu said nodding.

"You can thank me by getting into that red-headed chick's panties." Shiro cackled making Ichigo flush slightly.

"What do you guys think I should do?" Ichigo asked their advice while ignoring Shiro's comment.

"Attack them," Shiro responded quickly. "Preemptive strike."

"Just ignore them." Zangetsu answered. "If they are working against Soul Society then they are probably already aware of who we are. If not then they are probably a third party who we should not get involved with. Remember we are here just to establish something of a beach head. A place where everyone else can eventually and safely join us."

"Sounds alright," Ichigo admitted. "But what would you suggest if getting involved with them becomes a necessity?"

"Shiro?" Zangetsu said turning to the Hollow.

"No," Shiro said adamantly. "Not going to happen."

"What?" Ichigo asked curious as to what the two were talking about.

"Old man wants me to let you use the mask for longer." Shiro said shaking his head. "He wants me to increase the time to about an hour. That way you have a public face for the group to see and then you run around like some masked vigilante with the mask. Not going to happen. It would put your body under a huge strain. May even kill ya."

"It makes perfect sense," Zangetsu countered. "Should Ichigo decide that he needs to interact with them what better way than an unknown force? They are put off balance and Ichigo can still interact with them as a known force to get an insight into any plans they have because his energy will be masked by your own."

"I thought that I had an unlimited time span." Ichigo said frowning.

"You've just never hit the limit." Shiro explained. "Most of your fights are over in under thirty minutes and even then you are feeling the strain a bit. The limit right now is about thirty five before complete collapse."

Ichigo hated to admit it but Zangetsu had a point. Acting as a strange power that they didn't have a clue how to handle would be advantageous to him, especially if it allowed him to remain undetected.

"Any way you can increase it?" Ichigo asked frowning.

"Well," Shiro said losing his casual attitude for once. "In theory if we split the time up evenly it wouldn't cause quite as much strain on the body, but that would mean that I would have to be in charge of the body for half the time. So about half an hour. Then you would have to take a back seat as I kicked everyone's ass."

Ichigo gritted his teeth. Shiro was violent and unpredictable. He could destroy a major city if he really wanted to. He also had... less scrupulous means of telling ally from enemy. He was likely to attack anyone as long as they put up a decent fight.

But Ichigo could really use that time.

"Just don't go attacking any of my friends." Ichigo growled.

"Sure," Shiro replied his cocky smile back on his face. "Besides if I attack them then I don't think any of them would be willing to screw us when they find out I'm a part of you."

"When did you get to be such a pervert?" Ichigo asked dead pan. He could almost here the sound of that God damned American television show his dad had forced him to watch when he was younger. Sesame Street. He could hear that pathetic excuse for a vampire counting in the background. One. One pervert, ahahah. Two. Two perverts, ahahah. Three. Three perverts, ahahah. Four. Four perverts, ahahah. Five. Five perverts, ahahah.

"I am your inner instinct." Shiro replied. "With as many women that surround you it isn't that much of a surprise."

"Women don't surround me." Ichigo denied.

"Rangiku, Yoruichi, Rukia," Shiro began listing.

"Orihime, Tatsuki, Ikumi," Zangetsu added.

"Ururu, Unohana, Nanao, Suì-Fēng, Lisa, Mashiro, Hiyori," Shiro continued.

"You can stop any time now." Ichigo said dead pan.

"But we haven't even covered the Mod Souls, Zanpakutō spirits, or Arrancar, yet." Shiro replied. "Let's see, there is Harribel, Lilynette-"

"Okay you've made your point," Ichigo broke in interrupting him.

"I was always partial to Sode no Shirayuki." Zangetsu admitted.

"You sly dog," Shiro complimented giving the black clad man a sly look. "I thought Haineko was pretty hot too."

"Guys," Ichigo said his face a bright crimson. "You've more than proved your point. Can we please just drop it?"

"Fine," Shiro said shaking his head.

"I suppose I should get back to class," Ichigo said anxious to leave.

"See you in a bit," Shiro said giving a crooked smile.

Ichigo closed his eyes in concentration once again.

When he opened them two things happened simultaneously. One he registered that someone was very close to his face. The other was that said person was suddenly flying backward. Ichigo looked down. Sure enough his fist was extended.

A crashing noise filled the room. Ichigo looked over toward the person he had punched. It was Bob-cut. She was lying in a heap of broken desks.

Ichigo started to apologize.

"Sorry about that," Ichigo said quickly. "It was a mistake."

"You mistakenly punch people who try to wake you up?" Bob-cut asked angrily getting to her feet. Killing Intent leaked out of her.

"Yeah," Ichigo said rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "My dad's favorite past time is attacking me to wake me up. I had to learn to act without thinking to stop him."

"Sounds rather cruel," Bob-cut said frowning.

"He's actually not cruel at all," Ichigo said shrugging. "He's just an idiot who believes I need to be ready to fight at any time."

"My name is Souna Shitori," Souna said her Killing Intent leaving her slowly. "I'm the head of the Student Council. Because the school is so large I got special permission from the Principal for both of us to skip the rest of class today so that I may show you around everywhere. It's already noon so I suppose we should get started."

"Wait noon?" Ichigo questioned.

"Well I was going too originally take you around after homeroom, but when anyone tried to wake you up they couldn't. So I figured that it would be best to let you sleep. Same thing happened after second period. I figured that I would wake you up after third period at the latest." Souna said shrugging.

_That's right,_ Ichigo thought his eyebrow twitching. _Time flows differently in my inner world._

"So where to first?" Ichigo said getting up from his desk. Souna began to lead him out of the room.

"Well I was thinking first I would show you to the lunch room to eat then I would show you around campus." Souna said shrugging.

"Alright," Ichigo said following her.

"We are actually going to take a short cut," Souna said as she led Ichigo through a pair of doors outside. "It's actually faster to get to the lunch room this way."

Ichigo began to follow her while taking in the sights. The area outside was large and open. Plenty of room to run around in or to have a fight. A small wooded area stood to one side. Ichigo could just make out a large building behind them. He caught a brief glimpse of red in the window then it was gone.

"Hey Souna," Ichigo said speaking up. He pointed toward the building. "What's that building over there for?"

"That is the old school building." Souna said following Ichigo's finger. "It is used by a club here at school for their meetings."

"An entire club gets a building?" Ichigo questioned raising an eyebrow. "How did that work?"

"Don't know." Souna simply. "Do you know what is for lunch today?"

"Not a clue," Ichigo responded, but his mind was still on that building.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Rias Gremory, heir to the Gremory Household, Devil, high school student, and King of her peerage, turned from the window where she had been observing Ichigo Kurosaki.

Ichigo Kurosaki. That name was causing her troubles. As one of the heirs to a noble house in Hell Rias had access to many of the documents that were supposed to remain out of the public's eye. She mostly used the information just to make sure her peerage was safe from any other faction. She didn't want her family threatened by an encroaching Angel or Fallen Angel.

She had gotten word of a new transfer just the previous day. She had checked all his personal files and they were suspicious to say the least.

Any information that could have been left blank was. Even the required fields were ambiguous. The only concrete thing she could get out of it was a name, address, transferring school, and his previous grades. Even his parent's names were wrong. They were 'Dad' and 'Mom'.

She had asked her brother to come up with anything on the name. He had given her a birth certificate with the ink still wet. She was stressed to say the least. According to all her information Ichigo Kurosaki didn't exist until a few days ago. Her only explanation was that he was in some form of witness protection program, but they would have done a better job with his information.

"Ara, ara," Akeno said walking to Rias's desk and placed a small cup of tea on it. "You're making my head hurt with all that thinking."

"Sorry, Akeno," Rias apologized picking up the cup and taking a sip. "I still don't know what to make of him. This is very good as always Akeno."

"Ichigo Kurosaki may be just what he appears," Akeno said speaking up. "A student who saw something they shouldn't have and is now in the witness protection program. I'm sure it's fine. I doubt Ichigo is even his real name. Probably some joke about his hair by an officer filling out the paperwork. Thank you for the compliment."

"I suppose," Rias mused but she remained unconvinced. "I think we need to take a look at his place. Make sure everything is where it is supposed to be."

"Ara, ara," Akeno said smiling. "Rias wants to go into another boy's room so quickly after she was in little Issei's bed. How bold of you."

Rias ignored her Queen and formed a transportation circle. She felt Akeno step inside it. A sudden red flash filled the room, blinding Rias for a moment. As her vision began to return she found herself in a typical room. Small but not overly small. The only furnishing was a bed and a small dresser. The bed was rumpled from having been slept in.

"Start looking through the house." Rias said nodding to her Queen. "Be careful not to disturb anything too much."

"Alright," Akeno said brightly. "Have fun."

Akeno opened the door and left the room.

Rias began her search. She started the standard places. Under the bed, in the closet, in the drawers of his dresser. In each instance she found nothing to suggest Ichigo wasn't just a regular human. Rias tried unconventional hiding places next. The light fixture, in the sheets, attached underneath the drawers. She still found nothing.

Rias left the room to search elsewhere. She looked around. She was in a hallway with older paper walls. Akeno was in a nearby room that looked like the bathroom searching a medicine shelf. Rias began making her way down the hall. It was fairly short and the only other door in it was to a small closet.

Eventually she made her way to a small intersection in the hall. Down one path she could see a dining area. Down another she could see a kitchen. In front of her she could see a small living room. She made for the living room.

As she entered Rias realized that the room was actually larger than she had originally thought but not by much. A small three person couch sat in front of a small television that was playing some American Western about cowboys. A black cat sat lazily in the corner and barely cracked an eye as Rias entered. A door with a mail slot led outside.

Rias began her search as she searched under the couch, in the couch, and even under the T.V. She didn't find anything other than dust. She was eventually joined by Akeno.

"I searched the Kitchen and Dining room." Her Queen said simply. "Nothing to say he isn't just a normal human."

"Still," Rias said frowning. "Those documents were just a bit too fresh. As if they were made within hours, but they were good enough to get Ichigo into the school. Whoever made them is a master forger, but nothing here seems to indicate he isn't human."

"What would something like that be?" Akeno asked.

"Well we all have something in our homes that reminds us of where we are from," Rias said shrugging. "Pictures of family, books, little trinkets. All of them have a definite inhuman feel to them. Nothing here says that to me. Let's get back before we are missed."

"Alright Buchou," Akeno said stepping close as Rias began to teleport. They were gone in a flash of red.

As Rias's eyes adjusted back to the room of her building they widened in surprise. Sitting on her table was a strange statuette. It was very simple but strange at the same time. It gave off the same feeling an Evil Piece would but it was different at the same time. It even looked different than any other Evil Piece Rias had seen. Instead of a standard chess piece as was normal this looked instead like a hooded man. She couldn't tell much else about it.

A small piece of paper was underneath it.

Rias carefully removed the paper and began to read:

Dear Rias,

Well we have never met but I do have something of a flare for prophecy at times and I happened to see you in one of the visions of what could be. In order to save the world I have created this 'Evil Piece' as I believe you call them. I have made it rather unique to say the least. It would have to be for the person I hope you use it on. It will work on just about anyone though so be VERY careful to use it wisely. A wrong misstep and the world goes down the drain. I would like to meet you but I left rather awkwardly and plenty of people would be angry if I suddenly returned like nothing happened. That said I feel I need to meddle once in a while to fix things that went wrong. Hopefully this Piece will fix a few things that I need to alter. Either way, if things go the way I hope they do, have fun and above all I feel a bit of pity for you. It will be difficult. Keep your head up.

Your friend,

Mat Himatia1

Rias blinked. A man with prophesy. That was uncommon. The ones with greater gifts for prophesy were those of the Greek Faction, the Egyptian Faction, or even the Norse Faction. Not many had it in the Three Great Factions.

Rias looked at the statuette on her table as she passed the note to Akeno to read.

"Who are you Mat Himatia?" Rias asked softly.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Nel was having a good day. She smiled happily as her brothers chased her in a game of tag around Hueco Mundo. It was a bright sunny day and her family was together. At least most of them.

After Ichigo had left she had felt strange. She still did. She missed him, but it was different than when she missed her brothers. It felt bad. All she knew was that she wanted her 'Itsygo' back. He had defended her and her brothers despite working with those wicked Shinigami that would hunt her and her family down.

A sudden noise caught her attention as she ran across the sands that made the ground. She glanced over and saw a figure that reminded her of her other self. When Ichigo was in Hueco Mundo Nel had transformed into her other self for a short time. With it had come all the memories of her previous life as an Espada. Even though she had been forcefully transformed back into her childlike state she still remembered.

The figure seemed to radiate power. It looked like a man on horseback, but there were no horsies here. Nel frowned as she slowed to a stop. It was a dangerous risk. She couldn't fight them, but with Tier Harribel now being in power the only Hollows aloud out of the forested section were intelligent ones. The rest were kept in the forest.

Nel felt her brothers pause behind her. Ready to grab her and run if they needed to. The figure paused a short distance away. It was a tall woman on a black horse. She had close cropped blond hair that was almost white. Hard green eyes stared out of sunken eye sockets.

"I don't understand why I have to grab this pathetic bitch." The woman snarled. "Kid you're coming with me."

"Nel doesn't have to go with you if she doesn't want to," her brothers said simultaneously.

"I'm afraid she does," The woman growled back. From her back he pulled a large sythe from her back. It glowed a sickened white. "She doesn't and I force her to watch as you slaughter one another over a scrap of meat."

"Nel don't listen to her." Pesche said confidently. "We can hold her off. We've been practicing. Get out of here."

"Kid this blade isn't for cutting," The woman growled. "It's for starving. A single cut from this blade will cause you and your friend to become so starved you'll kill each other for a scrap of food the size of my thumbnail. If you don't fight you'll become nothing but a pile of bones."

"Nel run," Pesche said as her brothers dropped into defensive stances.

"No," Nel said her hands gripping into fists. "I'll go with you. Jut don't hurt my brothers."

"See you got some fuckin sense anyway." The woman ground out raising a hand beside her head. She snapped her fingers. Behind her a door in the very air seemed to open up just large enough for Nel. Through it Nel could see a little town. "Don't worry. She will be with Ichigo for a time. Need someone to increase his abilities as a Seal."

"I'll tee you later," Nel said smiling at her brothers. The door was moving toward her. She saw another door appear behind the strange woman with the horsy. It slowly moved over the woman. "Itsygo will take care of me."

The last she saw of her brothers was them standing in the sand, tears streaming down their faces. Then she fell.

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**Author's Note: **

**John: Himatia is an actual word. It is a garment consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth thrown over the left shoulder and wrapped about the body. Who is this Mat person? Well I won't say. I will say we will hear his name a few more times but he won't appear as a larger Character in this story. As it is I doubt anyone can guess where I got the name from. I'm actually quite proud of it.**

**Ichigo: What the hell am I doing here again?**

**John: Well I thought you might like to give your thoughts on Rias and Akeno breaking into your house.**

**Ichigo: WAIT! Who broke in where?!**

**John: Red-hair and Pony-tail. Oh and someone may have taken a souvenir from your underwear drawer.**

**Ichigo: You bastard I'm going to kill you!**

**John: *Ducks under sword* I was only kidding... maybe.**

**Ichigo: You are worse than Kon. Speaking of that perverted bastard where was he? If he was at home he would have gone after them and I don't think much would have stopped him.**

**John: Well let's just say that Yoruichi is very fast. The time it takes for the Goddess of the Flash to sense an intruder and hear their voices may have been enough time to grab a certain perverted bear from where he sat on the couch and hide him in a basement.**

**Yoruichi: At leas****t**** someone appreciates my speed. **

**Ichigo: WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?**

**Yoruichi: I've been here since you got here. I just haven't spoken yet.**

**Ichigo: Well why didn't they find the basement?**

**John: Who in their right mind would wake up a cat from their nap. It could end up being deadly. **

**Yoruichi: I have to say the trap door wasn't as comfortable as it could have been. Maybe you could fix that next chapter. Maybe add a saucer of milk next to it.**

**John: I'll get you your milk. That's all for this chapter. Thanks once again to my new beta reader chaos083. See you guys later.**


End file.
